Dodd gambles on banking panel in re-election fight

Published 8:00 pm, Friday, September 18, 2009

Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd's decision to hang on to his Senate banking committee chairmanship is a risky one for the five-term incumbent facing a tough re-election fight.

Republican rivals have hammered away at his ties to Wall Street over the past year. Charges that Dodd is too cozy with the same financial interests he's supposed to regulate through the committee have made him one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats in 2010.

But Dodd hopes to turn the tables. He will be in the driver's seat as Congress tackles a sweeping financial regulatory overhaul.

If he can push through aggressive pro-consumer reforms, he plans to tout that to skeptical voters as proof that he's tough on bankers and other Wall Street types.

"In some ways you can argue it's the more riskier move, and that says a lot about his character," said Roy Occhiogrosso, a veteran Democratic strategist and Dodd supporter. "If opponents are successful in blocking financial regulatory reform, he will be criticized for not getting the job done."

Dodd has said his decision to keep the banking panel chairmanship was "a tough call," but he wants to finish the banking and credit card reforms he began after taking over as chairman in 2007. But Dodd also wants to hedge his bets, saying he intends to keep a hand in the fight over health care legislation -- even though he turned down a leading role in that fight when he opted not to take over the Senate health committee chairmanship held by his friend, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

"I am going to keep my nose to the grindstone and do what I can here on both the financial services and health care area," Dodd said.

Dodd's political stock fell after the financial meltdown and his failed 2008 presidential bid. He was stung by a home-state backlash after temporarily moving his family to Iowa before his poor showing in the caucuses there. Some analysts call his decision on the health committee chairmanship a blunder, saying he could have used that platform to steer the spotlight away from his Wall Street woes.

and boost his flagging re-election prospects. He trails former GOP congressman Rob Simmons in recent polls.

"He missed a very important political opportunity here to be the point person on health care reform and, really, in many ways to carry the torch of Ted Kennedy -- which would play out quite well in the minds of many voters here in Connecticut," said Gary Rose, professor of politics at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. "It would have been politically advantageous, too, for him to put a great deal of distance between himself and the banking committee."

Dodd could have assumed the mantle for Kennedy, who made health care his life's cause. It would have returned Dodd to issues involving children, families and education that he championed earlier in his career.

Instead, analysts say, he may have invited even more attacks on his Wall Street ties by keeping his old chairmanship.

"That's exactly why he's in political hot water right now, because of all those issues," Rose said.

Dodd has come under fire for his reliance on Wall Street contributions. He drew criticism for his role in writing a bill that protected bonuses for executives at bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc., and for allegations he got favorable treatment on two mortgages with Countrywide Financial Corp.

The Senate ethics panel cleared Dodd of breaking rules by getting the Countrywide mortgages, but scolded him for not doing more to avoid the appearance of sweetheart deals.